mutant_futurefandomcom-20200215-history
Ground Vehicles (Basic)
Basic Ground Vehicles are crude animal-(or man-)powered transports, like carts and wagons. Q-Ped The Q-Ped is a pedaled vehicle that's usually about the size of a sedan. Many are triangular, but different shapes are certainly possible. It has four seats, a protected trunk, and enough straps to secure a limited amount of cargo. The Q-Ped's maximum speed depends on the number of crew. If only one person is pedaling, the Q-Ped's maximum speed is a sluggish 10 mph, but each additional pedaler adds 10 to the max speed. The Q-Ped is sturdy enough for day-to-day travel, but against a dedicated attacker, it's flimsy and vulnerable. If you're expecting trouble, attaching some leather paneling to the outer frame could help you buy time. Anything heavier than that would slow the Q-Ped down. The Q-Ped has no platform for mounted weapons, but it's possible for riders to use personal weapons while pedaling. Land Galley, Large Even in the howling wastes of the mutant future, the wind doesn’t blow all the time. The land galley evolved as a pedal-powered variant of the land schooner for when the mail or merchant’s cargo had to get through, regardless of the weather. The sail and pedals combination worked for smaller craft with only one cyclist, but the weight of the crew and the bicycle hardware required to propel larger capacity tandem vehicles made sailing impossible. Land galleys are still boat or fuselage-shaped to reduce wind resistance but have ditched their masts for the advantages of consistent human-powered movement and greater average speed, even when carrying cargo. They are less maneuverable than land schooners but can traverse more rugged terrain, even go up and down mountains. The galley still has a pilot who controls steering and braking but the crewman who formerly handled the sails now coordinates the efforts of 8-20 cyclists, much like the drummer on a pre-Crisis sea galley. Originally designed for commerce, land galleys have sometimes been adapted for war as a sort of squad-sized chariot. Overall weight is still a constraint, so armored skirts of anything heavier than leather are impractical. War galleys typically lack mounted weaponry, relying instead on a “cargo” of heavily armed soldiers. (notes by Kevin Scrivner) Land Schooner Land schooners are sail or vertical airfoil powered ground vehicles used to transport passengers and cargo in regions with steady, strong winds and relatively flat terrain. Their exact size and conformation varies widely, but they are typically narrower and longer than animal-drawn wagons, more boat-like than boxy, with smaller wheels. Land schooners are lightly but sturdily constructed, sometimes of wood, sometimes of stiffened cloth or leather over a wooden frame, sometimes of thin metal. Schooners usually require a pilot to steer and at least one other crewman to man the shrouds or adjust the airfoil. They aren’t armored, since the additional weight would prevent them from moving, and usually don’t carry mounted weaponry for the same reason. A well-designed, unloaded land schooner can reach speeds 2-3 times the current wind speed. (notes by Kevin Scrivner) Category:Basic Technology Category:Basic Vehicles